Indonesia Will Start Caning Gay People in Private Where Social Media (and Investors) Can’t See

In May 2017, Islamic authorities in the Aceh province of Indonesia publicly caned two adult men for the crime of having consensual same-sex intercourse behind closed doors. The video of the caning went viral and now provincial officials are worried that the bad press will discourage investors from putting money into Indonesia. So Acehnese leaders have decided to end such floggings … in public, anyway.

According to the Asian news site coconuts.co, Aceh’s vice governor Nova Iriansyah has decided to “change the ‘technical implementation’ of the [public caning] law so that the corporal punishment is carried out privately, inside a prison with only a small audience, instead of in public for all (including the media) to see.”

The canings initially occurred in public as a social deterrent, but that is now being weighed against the effect that such public exposure has on foreign investors. Iriansyah says he “hoped the change would prevent stories about future canings from going viral on social media and creating more negative perceptions amongst investors.”

“LGBT discrimination is something the global business community takes extremely seriously. It negatively affects companies’ ability to recruit and retain top talent, and it can prevent companies from locating their best talent within countries with hostile environments for LGBT people….

an Indonesia where discrimination is touted by public officials or embedded in the law will be increasingly out of step with the global economy. Indonesia’s investors should strongly question the economic implications of anti-LGBT laws and policies.”

Despite the legality of homosexuality in Indonesia, the country is largely ruled by conservative Muslims. Approximately 93 percent of Indonesians oppose homosexuality; the Indonesian Psychiatrists Association classifies LGBTQ identity as a mental disorder; the country’s ministers consider LGBTQ people a security risk and have started passing laws forbidding businesses from hiring LGBTQ people and forcing LGBTQ people into so-called “ex-gay” conversion therapy.